This old house: Wilder Mansion in Bolton

Monday

Aug 13, 2012 at 12:01 AMAug 13, 2012 at 1:19 PM

When Dawn and Paul Tesini were looking for a new home many years ago, they could not quite find what they wanted. They knew they needed a bigger space for their three children but they liked the character of their 1862 house in Stow.

Paul, said Dawn, likes having a bit of land and some acreage, but they also knew Paul’s mom might move in with them at some point and they wanted first-floor living space for her. A couple of years into the casual process of looking, Paul drove by 101 Wilder Road, the home most commonly known as the Wilder Mansion, with its stately exterior and sweeping views and just knew.

Julia Quinn-Szcesuil/ for Wicked Local

When Dawn and Paul Tesini were looking for a new home many years ago, they could not quite find what they wanted. They knew they needed a bigger space for their three children but they liked the character of their 1862 house in Stow.

Paul, said Dawn, likes having a bit of land and some acreage, but they also knew Paul’s mom might move in with them at some point and they wanted first-floor living space for her. A couple of years into the casual process of looking, Paul drove by 101 Wilder Road, the home most commonly known as the Wilder Mansion, with its stately exterior and sweeping views and just knew.

“He saw the view and said, ‘This is it,’” said Dawn. “On a clear day you can see to Mount Monadnock.”

In July 2007, the Tesini family moved in and took on the stewardship of one of the most famous homes in town. Said to be built in 1738, the year Bolton was incorporated, the home sits high atop Wilder Road. By chance, said Dawn, previous owners built a kennel in the back for the greyhound dogs they bred. The structure was converted to a two-bedroom home, so they had instant extra space for guests or relatives.

Long known for being the home where the Marquis de Lafayette slept on his tour of the United States in 1824, the Wilder Mansion has evolved through many renovations, changes, and owners, but has always attracted the attention of people who love beautiful homes. The home was featured in House Beautiful in 1915 and in Yankee Magazine in 2000.

According to records, the first owner of the Wilder Mansion was Josiah Richardson, who passed the home to his son James. James’s son Caleb ran the home as an inn for a while, but was eventually bought out by his brother, named James like his father. In fact, when Richardson died, the town required every item in the home to be listed for tax purposes. The document, which the Tesinis have, lists the smallest things like a coat or even a fish dish.

Eventually, the home became the property of Sampson Wilder, a Lancaster native and prosperous businessman, who in 1824 hosted the Marquis de Lafayette, a well-loved French general of the Revolutionary War, for a night in his home. His most famous guest stayed in a back bedroom that was originally the master bedroom of the home.

Hosting such a special guest was completely in Wilder’s realm as he had a long history with the French government. According to “About Bolton” by Esther Whitcomb, Wilder had extensive business in France as the agent of a trader and was so enmeshed with the elite society that he attended Napoleon’s wedding in place of the American ambassador who had fallen ill. Wilder, according to reports, really wanted Napoleon to escape to Bolton, with Wilder’s extensive assistance, after the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. When details could not include some of Napoleon’s close followers and relatives, the plans fell apart. Napoleon went into exile elsewhere.

The history of the home during Wilder’s 30-year ownership was vibrant – he even built a structure known as the Hillside Church, a divisive measure that further drove the local Evangelical and Unitarian followers apart. Wilder, it is said, supported the Evangelical group, and created extensive controversy.

According to documents from the Tesinis, several people then had ownership of the home including John Forbush in the late 1800s, J. Wyman Jones at the turn of the century, and John Saltonstall in the early 1900s.

And the changing owners never seemed to feel stifled by keeping the home the same. East and west wings were added to the original structure in 1824 and a renovation of one of those wings in the early 1900s added a large fireplace. With 10 fireplaces, the Tesinis can tell which ones have been changed as the surrounding guard is tile, not brick like the original fireplaces. Some floors date to the early 1800s, although the rumored stenciling of the upstairs floors is no longer visible. Parquet floors in the front hall hint at renovations a century ago.

The original house had the kitchen in the front room, although now it is in the back. There is what the Tesinis call a summer kitchen in the basement where the servants could prepare food away from summertime heat upstairs. A dumb waiter shows the efficiency of the behind-the-scenes operations. In the 1800s, the home had a front porch, said Dawn, that was removed during the extensive renovations of 1914 when the back room off the present-day kitchen was renovated. A wing that once housed servants’ quarters and an extra guest room is no longer there and one side of the house used to have a terrace, now long gone.

Many helped run the home, evidenced by the downstairs kitchen and the maid’s living quarters. In addition, the attic has several rooms carved into the space, leading the Tesinis to guess that people stayed up there as well.

But many of the interior elements remain. The beautiful front hall, graced by a double staircase, lends a stately air to the home. Detailed molding, graceful glass-fronted cabinets (plain in the butler’s pantry and curved and elegant in the living room) show the detail that went into its construction.

The Tesinis have made a few repairs to the house but have worked to make the large space feel cozy while still honoring the building’s history.

“We want to maintain the historical character of the house,” said Dawn. “We try to do that with period-correct colors and period-friendly plantings.”

Dawn discovered several pictures of the home, in all its various stages, in a closet and has them on display so visitors can get an understanding of the home through the centuries. One of the biggest treasures has been handed down from other homeowners – a scrapbook bursts at the seams with newspaper articles, photos, letters, historical clippings, and photos of the home.

But, as with any family in a historical home, they all wonder about the people who lived there before them. Dawn puzzles over the high ceilings, certainly not the norm of a home in the 1700s. Where did they get the money to build such a grand home and why all the additions and subtractions to the structure?

“The changes this house has gone through are amazing,” said Dawn. “I would love to have these walls talk to give the whole history.”

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